There certainly is a meaning behind all of late Jayantha Premachandra’s paintings. Through many of his paintings he has tried to express the social life and the struggles of people during his time. A lot of heads of state have come to his exhibitions in the past, such as S.W.R.D Bandaranaike, J. R. Jayewardene & Ranasinghe Premadasa. His exhibitions have been graced by foreign statesmen including Jawaharlal Nehru & many diplomates. He has presented paintings to his eminence Pope John Paul II and done a live portrait of Yuri Gagarin.
In fact, the painting of Jayantha Premachandra that was auctioned recently was a depiction of a Tamil family during the ethnic riots, and you can feel the sadness, as if it was something tangible. That painting was done in the 80’s, before he left Sri Lanka in 1983 just after the riots. His daughter Nilanka says that his greatest quality was that he treated human beings like human beings.
By the time of his passing in 1988, Artist Jayantha Premachandrahad achieved many milestones, and made a name for himself in the world of Art. Through his works of Art,he has gained international recognition. He had over 45 solo exhibitions across most of Europe including the UK, Scandinavia, the former USSR, Middle East & parts of Asia. Pieces from his collection are currently housed in prestigious institutions such as the State Museum in Russia, Modern Art Museum in Iraq, Henie Halbera’s Collection in Spain and in several private collections in Europe. This in itself makes him a bit of a rarity.
Cultural expression
Kushan Atapattu, Nilanka Premachandra, Dimanthi De Silva and Muditha Premathilake.
Pictures by Ranjith Asanka
In May this year, a retrospective exhibition featuring his collection is scheduled, to commemorate the planned exhibition of May 1988 in USA which was cancelled due his passing in April 1988. The event is designed to not only celebrate the life and works of Jayantha Premachandra, but also to honour his vision of a global exchange of cultural expressions.
Dr. Alan Lightman, a renowned American, physicist, writer, and social entrepreneur and friend of JP will be the Chief Guest at this event. Jayantha Premachandra’s planned exhibition in the United States, organised by Dr. Lightman in May 1988, tragically did not materialise due to the artist’s untimely passing. This is why Dr. Lightman will grace the occasion this year. The Foundation chaired by Nilanka Premachandra, JPs only child, will host this exhibition in Colombo at the J.D.A Perera Gallery.
Chairperson of the Jayantha Premachandra Foundation (JPF) Nilanka Premachandra and some members of the Jayantha Premachandra Foundation, shared their views on the legacy of Jayantha Premachandra.
Nilanka Premachandra, recollected that her father was a very kind person and was always ready to help people. “He felt for the working class and cared about those who suffered, and he tried to bring those hardships out in his paintings. He had a connection with people of different nationalities and cultures. At the age of five I traveled with him, and my impression of him was that he was very involved with people. I grew up abroad and studied in France, but he wanted me to learn the mother tongue, ‘Sinhalese’ by maintaining a diary written in Sinhala.
Posthumous exhibition
She recalls that most of the exhibitions of her father were state organised exhibitions by the respective countries. Just before passing away, he had even planned an exhibition with UNESCO, which was held posthumously by Nilanka and her mom in 1991after his demise. At the time of his death, he was just getting settled down in France, he was being recognised and he even had a gallery.
He was also the first Asian to exhibit in Iraq. If he had not passed away suddenly he would have done a lot more. He just wanted to do what made him passionate. He was very open about what he was doing with no hidden agendas. But yes, he was ambitious. His first exhibition in 1958 was at the National Art Gallery/Kala Bhavana,declared open by Prime Minister S. W. R. D Bandaranaike.
In 1991, Nilanka did the UNESCO Paris Exhibition in a very simple way, not in the grandiose way her father would have liked, as it was an exhibition that was planned. The exhibition planned for this May 2024 at J.D.A Perera Art gallery is significant, because it is the first big exhibition after JPs death. It is a retrospective exhibition and it is titled – ‘Unveiling of a Canvas from 1988’. This exhibition was planned to be held in Boston in May 1987 for which unfortunately JP could not attend.
“We are trying to do that exhibition in Sri Lanka after 36 years. The chief guest is Dr. Lightman who organised the exhibition in Boston in 1987.
The J. D. A. Perera Gallery at University of the Visual & Performing Arts Colombo is to hold this art exhibition especially as Jayantha Premachandra studied there. It will be open to the public from the 29th of May 2024 for six continuous days”.
Versatile artist
The present administration is very excited about partnering with the JPF. Further J.D.A Perera has also written about Jayantha Premachandra. JP was considered a favorite student of J.D.A Perera. So there is a lot of interest there when it comes to Jayantha Premachandra and learning about him as an artist. No doubt the students at the University of Visual and Performing Arts can benefit immensely by learning about Jayantha Premachandra, a very versatile artist who has used various techniques and media in his works.
The visit of Dr. Alan Lightman is itself important as he is an important AmericanPhysicist and public figure. This is his first time coming to Sri Lanka. He has done some CSR work in other parts of the world, and the US Embassy is quite aware of all of that. So they are also supporting the foundation with this project.
Jayantha Premachandra Foundation Member, Kushan Atapattu became a part of the JP Foundation about two years ago. He too has a passion for art, and added that the JPF is into CSR and Charity work, mainly being of service to society. That inspired him to join the JPF. “I wanted to be part of reviving the legacy of Jayantha Premachandra, because I feel that people should know about what he expressed through his art, some of it being the social struggles of the less privileged, social-political influence and village life. I have gone through his history and his paper cuttings, and I felt that it was something important and something significant. Which is why I wanted to be a part of this endeavor,” said Atapattu.
Underrated painter
He added that Nilanka has around 150 paintings of her father from 1983 – 1988, and if you take the paintings JP had done over his career (30 years) there could be around 600- 700 paintings.
“I feel that he is underrated. It is 36 years since he passed away, and since then not many people have spoken about his work. Since then the artistic landscape has changed a lot over the years. He was also the Designer in Chief at Thulhiriya Textile Mills Corporation (the largest and most successful state-owned fabric manufacturer in Sri Lanka). He was a teacher of art at Wesley College and Buddhist Ladies College. He has written two books, and was a newspaper columnist.”
Jayantha Premachandra Foundation Member, Dimanthi De Silva, pointed out that forming a foundation was a mutual decision, because the common goal was making his name known to the public. “There are a number of people who have still not heard his name, and we felt that since he has made a significant contribution to Art, people should know more about him. There is so much potential in what we are trying to do by reviving his name-Jayantha Premachandra the Artist.”
Both Kushan and Dimanthi believe that by highlighting JPs work, they can build something around it and hopefully start some CSR and other programmes focused on helping up and coming skilled artists. They hope they can also help when it comes to social and community work. In 2022 the Foundation did acharity auction, and they successfully completed the project by refurbishing the neuro ward at the National Hospital. They did so by auctioning two of JPs paintings. This time, most probably they will auction one painting and help the University of Visual and Performing Arts.
The Future plan is to one day take this exhibition abroad as well since JP himself wanted to promote Sri Lanka through his art.
The other members in the JPF are Muditha, Farah, Janaka, Viranka, Mahesha, Randi and Nisha.
Ishara Jayawardane